Chapter 5

“I wish I could have seen your sister’s face. Did she totally freak?”

Buffy nodded. “Something like that, it was pretty great.”

“You know you can stay here as long as you want, my dad doesn’t mind. He practically insisted,” Amy told her.

“Thanks, I really appreciate this. I was dying in that house, Faith just doesn’t understand.”

Amy waved her hand in the air. “You don’t need her; she’s brought you nothing but grief. We’re your family now.”

Buffy smiled at the thought of a new family, but a part of her still missed the old one.


* * * * *


“It’s working perfectly, Dad. She’s turned against her sister; the Slayer won’t be a problem for us much longer.”

Rack grinned. “Excellent, now that is how it’s done. Hit the Slayer close to home, and make her vulnerable. Best of all, we won’t have to do anything. The young Miss Summers will do it for us.”

Amy smiled in satisfaction, glad that their plan was coming along. Sunnydale will soon be theirs, and no one would be able to stop them.


* * * * *


They headed to the Bronze later that night, which Spike knew Buffy was at before she came to his crypt.

Faith flirted with the bartender, hoping that he would give her something to go on, and then made her way back over to Spike. “Yeah, Buffy was here. Apparently she was with two others, a male and female. The girl talked him in to giving them beer, but he doesn’t remember how since he knew they were underage. It sounds like she used magic on him. Anyway, he overheard them talking, something about meeting Rack, whoever that is.”

Spike’s eyes widened at this new information. “Rack? Fuck, I know of that bloke, he’s bad news. Deals with the black arts, his home is even cloaked, you would have to be a demon or into the craft in order to find it.”

“I guess that’s where you come in, bleach boy. Let’s go, if this guy is as bad as you say he is, I don’t want my sister anywhere near him.”

Spike agreed as he followed her out of the club, praying they weren’t already too late.


* * * * *


“You know, I’ve always had a thing for you, Buffy. I’ve hid it around Amy, but now that you’re basically living with us, I don’t think I can anymore. You’re so fucking hot.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows, moving away from him. “I’m flattered, Michael, but not really interested in dating anyone right now. Your friendship means a lot to me, I wouldn’t want to do anything to ruin that.”

He nodded in acceptance, even though he was angered at her refusal of him. “Sure, whatever, it’s not like you’re the only girl in the world. I’m gonna be a powerful Warlock some day; I could get any chick I want.”

She smiled now. “Good luck with that.”


* * * * *


“Bloody hell, I think this is the spot. I feel darkness in the air, it’s really strong.”

“How do we do this? We can’t just go in there and get her out. They’re probably expecting us,” Faith stated.

“I don’t fucking care,” Spike snarled. “I’ll go in there and drag her out by the hair if I have to. We’ll use the excuse that she’s still a minor, they can’t keep her without the cops getting involved and if I know Rack, magic or not, he’s not gonna want them on his trail. He likes to keep things private.”

Faith took in a deep breath. “I hope you’re right.”

Spike entered first, Faith following behind him. Neither knew what to expect once they walked in there, but it looked like a doctor’s office. There were people sitting in what appeared to be a waiting area.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Spike growled at the presence of Rack, getting in front of Faith. “Where’s Buffy?”

He grinned, not the least bit intimidated. “She is a bit preoccupied at the moment and as you can see, I have a few clients waiting.”

“My heart bleeds for you. Where the fuck is my sister? We’re taking her out of here.”

“I do not believe Buffy wishes to return with you. She seems perfectly content here. We can give her what you cannot, a loving residence with people who understand her. I only care about her happiness; can the same be said of you?”

Spike rolled his eyes. “That’s the biggest load of bull I’ve ever heard. I know of your kind, you only care about yourself. If you’re keeping her here, it’s for some ulterior motive, not about her wellbeing.”

“Why don’t we let the girl decide for herself?” Rack asked, Buffy suddenly appearing at his side. “My dear, it seems your sister and her vampire accomplice has come to take you away.”

She glared at them. “I’m not going anywhere. This is my home now.”

Spike saw that her eyes were black again, which meant she wasn’t completely in control. “What did you do? Put some sort of spell on her? I know for a fact that Buffy isn’t here of her own freewill. You did something to her, but it won’t last. Sooner or later, she’ll come to her senses. My girl is strong; you should really give her more credit.”

“Buffy, cut the crap, you can’t be serious about this. What have they done to you?”

“They gave me a reason for existing, made me unique. How does it feel knowing that your little sister can beat you now?” she finished with a grin.

Faith scoffed. “You’ll never beat me, you little brat.”

Spike placed a firm hand on her arm. “Pissing her off is not a good idea at the moment, Slayer.”

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. “I should have known that you two would be together. You lied about loving her, didn’t you? It’s always been about her, you were probably just using me this whole time.”

Spike was relieved to know that Buffy was still in there, she wouldn’t have gotten so upset at the idea of him with Faith if she wasn’t. “You know that’s not true. Come back with us, love. I promise things are going to be different from now on, you’ll never be alone again.”

“Sorry, I’m already where I belong.”

Rack flashed them an evil smirk, putting his arm around the blonde girl. “I believe she has made her choice.”

“The hell she has!” Faith yelled, but Spike held her back before she could charge at them.

“Not now, we’ll come back later,” he whispered in her ear, pulling her out of there.

She yanked her arm out of his grasp once they were outside. “What the fuck was that about? I’m not leaving without her.”

“There’s nothing we can do right now. Buffy is too far gone, we need to get to her when the power has worn off. She’ll be thinking more clearly then. Your sister is still in there, I saw her resurface briefly, but we can’t get to her when she’s around them. We have to get her alone somehow.”

“How are we supposed to do that?”

He shrugged. “She still has to go to school. Rack won’t stop his kids from going, which means he won’t stop her, people would be too suspicious. It’ll be up to you then, I can’t do anything during the day.”

The last thing Faith wanted to do was go back to that high school, after she officially left it a year ago. It brought nothing but bad memories, but for Buffy, she would make the exception.

“We’ll get her back, I promise you that. I know of someone who might be able to help us.”